


THE STORY OF US

by Kpop_fanboi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Donghyuk is a panicked gay, Haechan deserves better, Heavy Angst, I'm Sorry, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is a Confident Gay, mark is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27614540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kpop_fanboi/pseuds/Kpop_fanboi
Summary: Donghyuck thought of all the relationships in his life as individual books. All had their individual stories. Some of them were short and others were long, The one thing tying all of them together was that they were all stories that once happened in Donghyuck’s life. This story, in particular, is Donghyuks most heartbreaking. This is his story with Mark.ORWhere Donghyuck and Mark have been dating for three years and Donghyuck doesn't know when to let go.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	THE STORY OF US

Donghyuck thought of all the relationships in his life as individual books. All had their individual stories. Some of them were short and others were long, The one thing tying all of them together was that they were all stories that once happened in Donghyuck’s life. This story, in particular, is Donghyucks most heartbreaking. This is his story with Mark.

The story starts when Donghyuck was in 10th grade. It was the first day of school and everyone was talking about a new student from Canada. Donghyuck didn’t really care about the new student much until English. It was only third period and Donghyuck felt like he was going to explode because of all the girls gossiping about how hot the new kid was. 

When Donghyuck walks into English he rolls his eyes at the gossip and sits in the back. A couple of minutes later the new kid, Mark, walks in. That’s when Donghyuck got why everyone was talking about him. The rest of the seats were taken so Mark walks to the seat next to Donghyuck and sits down. 

He turns to Donghyuck and smiles. “Hi, I’m Mark,” he says. 

Donghyuck forgets how to speak for a minute. When Mark looks at him awkwardly he snaps out of his trance. “Sorry. Um, I’m Donghyuck,” he says.

Mark nods and replies, “It’s nice to meet you Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck smiles and then the bell rings. He found himself staring at Mark a couple of times throughout the class. Mark took notice of it at the end of the class and just smiled at him. Shit, he noticed. That’s all Donghyuck thinks about going to his next class. He has this class with two of his friends, Jeno and Chenle. He sits down by them and hides his face in his arms.

“What happened,” asks Chenle.

“The new kid, Mark, is in my English class. He’s really hot and I stared at him a few times during class. He noticed,” says Donghyuck.

“Have I taught you nothing about secretly staring at your crush in class,” asks Jeno. 

“You don’t understand. He’s like really really hot,” says Donghyuck. 

“So is Jisung, but I’ve never been caught staring,” says Chenle.

“You haven’t seen Mark though. He’s like mega hot,” says Donghyuck. 

“So, you think I’m hot,” says someone behind Donghyuck. Donghyuck’s eyes widen while Jeno and Chenle laugh.

“He’s behind me isn’t he,” asks Donghyuck. 

“Yes, I am,” says Mark.

  
Donghyuck turns around to face him. Mark is smirking and Donghyuck gives him an awkward smile. 

“Oh, Mark, you’re here. Great weather today isn’t it? It’s kinda cool, but-” Donghyuck says but Mark cuts him off.

“You know, you’re really cute,” says Mark.

Donghyuck doesn’t know how to respond. He’s not really good when it comes to people flirting with him. That’s what this is right? He’s not just making this up in his head?

“So, Donghyuck you wanna hang out sometime,” asks Mark.

“Just to make sure I’m reading the room right, you’re flirting with me, right? You asking me to hang out is a date? I’m not overanalyzing this,” asks Donghyuck.

As soon as he says that he feels like an idiot. Why would Mark flirt with him? He’s probably just overanalyzing all of it.

“Yes, I am flirting with you and yes it is a date. That is if you want to,” says Mark. 

“Yeah, I’d love to,” says Donghyuck. He’s trying to keep calm, but his mind is freaking out. Somehow, he’s managed to get the hot new guy to ask him out.

“Cool. Class is about to start, so I’ll talk to you later to figure out the details,” says Mark before going to sit down.

Donghyuck turns back to Chenle and Jeno who were both smiling at him. 

“Did that really just happen? Did I really just get a date with Mark? Am I dreaming,” asks Donghyuck.

“You’re not dreaming. You got a date with the hot new guy,” says Chenle. 

After that class, it was time for lunch. Donghyuck forgot his lunch this morning, so he was stuck eating the horrible cafeteria food. While he’s in line Mark comes in the back of him. 

“Oh, hey Mark,” says Donghyuck.

“Hi, Donghyuck,” says Mark.

“Who are you sitting with,” asks Donghyuck. He was hoping that Mark didn’t have anyone to sit with, so he could invite him to sit with Donghyuck and his friends.

“I was gonna sit by myself. I haven’t had much time to make any friends yet,” says Mark. 

“You can sit with me and my friends. Well, if you want. It’d also give us a chance to talk about our date and maybe get to know each other a little. Oh god I’m rambling, aren’t I? I’m sorry. I’m probably making a complete fool out of myself right now,” says Donghyuck realizing how much of an idiot he sounds like right now. 

“You’re cute when you get flustered and ramble. I’d love to sit with you and your friends,” says Mark chuckling. 

Donghyuck nods and smiles while looking down. 

“So, are you free Friday around 5,” asks Mark.

“Yeah, I am,” says Donghyuck.

“Then, that’s when we’ll go on our date,” says Mark smiling. 

When Donghyuck gets home he gets out his journal.

_ Dear no one,  _

_ Today was the first day of school and there was a transfer student from Canada, Mark. He’s really hot and he has three classes with me. He caught me staring at him and I ranted to Jeno and Chenle in my next class. The thing was that Mark heard me call him hot. I thought he’d be weirded out by me, but instead, he asked me out on a date. On Friday, we’re going on our date. This was definitely the best first day of school I’ve had. _

Over the next few days, Mark and Donghyuck get to know each other. They walked each other to classes, always talked in the class they had with each other, sat together during lunch, and texted a lot after school.

When Friday finally came Donghyuck was freaking out. This was the first date that he’d ever been asked out on and he really liked Mark. He didn’t want to screw this up and make a complete fool of himself like he always does. There were people far better than him, but for some reason, Mark decided to ask Donghyuck out. He didn’t want to drive Mark away before he even gets a chance to make something out of their relationship.

The school day is pretty uninteresting, but as soon as Donghyuck gets home he freaks out. He dragged Jaemin with him to help pick his outfit. 

“Okay, how do I look in this,” asks Donghyuck, showing Jaemin yet another outfit.

“Donghyuck, you look amazing in all of them. Mark isn’t gonna care about what you wear. Just pick one already,” says Jaemin lying on Donghyuck’s bed.

“I just really like him. I don’t wanna mess this up like I have my other almost relationships,” says Donghyuck.

“You’re not gonna mess this up. Now, stop worrying. I have to get going. Renjun is supposed to help me with Geometry,” says Jaemin before getting up and leaving.

Over the next hour, Donghyuck continues stressing over getting ready. When Mark gets there he knocks on the door. Donghyuck looks at himself one last time in the mirror before opening the door. 

“You look great,” says Mark smiling at him. 

“Thank you. So do you,” says Donghyuk blushing.

“These are for you. I wasn’t sure what kind of flowers you like, so I just went with roses,” says Mark handing them to Donghyuck. 

“Thank you. These are actually my favorite,” says Donghyuck. He takes the flowers and puts them in a vase real quick before going to Mark’s car.

Mark drives them to a restaurant that’s about ten minutes away. 

“Oh, I love this place,” says Donghyuck.

“I know. That’s why I chose it. You told me in one of your rants that you do when you’re embarrassed and flustered,” says Mark.

Donghyuck blushes and looks down. “You can always tell me to shut up if I’m being to rambly. I don’t really mean to. It just happens. I’m sorry I’m so annoying. Again, you can tell me to shut up,” says Donghyuck.

Mark turns to Donghyuck and puts his hands on his shoulders. “You are literally the cutest human being alive. How could you ever annoy me? Now, let’s get inside,” says Mark. 

Their dinner is spent with laughter and conversations about anything and everything. By the end of the night, they were in the back of Mark’s car making out. Neither of them was 100% sure how they ended up like that; it just happened. 

After they pull away from each other Mark asks, “I probably should’ve asked this before we made out, but do you want to be my boyfriend?” Donghyuck smiles and nods. 

When Donghyuck gets home he writes in his journal again. 

_ Dear no one, _

_ I just got my first boyfriend! Mark asked me out after we made out in his car. Our date was amazing. After the time we spent talking I knew he was an amazing guy, but he’s even better than I thought. He doesn’t even think that my rambling is annoying. I’m so happy right now. _

That’s how the story started. A very ordinary beginning to a love story, but to Donghyuck it was amazing. He’d never felt better in his life. 

It wasn’t Mark’s first relationship, but it was Donghyucks. That meant there were a lot of awkward attempts at flirting and just awkward everything on Donghyuck’s part. Mark never judged him for it though. Instead, he just laughed at all the failed attempts of flirting and called Donghyuck cute.

Donghyuck walked into English and sat in his normal seat. After a few minutes, Mark showed up and sat next to him. 

“You look amazing today,” says Donghyuck.

“Don’t I look good every day,” asks Mark teasing.

“Yeah, of course, you do! I just meant you look even better than normal. Not that your normal isn’t good because it is,” says Donghyuck.

“I was kidding Hyuck,” Mark says chuckling.

Donghyuck looks down and blushes. 

When Donghyuck was with Mark he felt like he was on top of the world. He never had the best life, especially at home, but when he was with Mark it was alright.

Donghyuck walks into school upset. His dad had gone on a rant to him about how homosexuality is a sin and Donghyuck was going to hell. This happens a lot, but it didn’t make it hurt any less every time it happened. 

When Mark sees Donghyuck he quickly notices the glum look on his face. Mark frowns and walks up to him.

“What’s wrong,” asks Mark.

Donghyuck smiles and says, “Nothing. I’m just tired.”

Mark gives him a pointed look and says, “Tell me the truth. Is it your dad again?”

Donghyuck looks down and that gives Mark his answer. Mark pulls Donghyuck into a hug and kisses his forehead. 

“After school do you wanna come over? We can watch movies, cuddle, and eat ice cream,” says Mark.

Donghyuck just nods and then the two go on about their day. After school, they do exactly as Mark says and it makes Donghyuck feel a lot better. 

Mark always knew what to do whenever Donghyuck was upset. Mark knew him like the back of his hand. Donghyuck also knew Mark like the back of his. They just worked. If one of them was lacking the other made up for it. Everything was great. 

Their story was smooth and perfect until it wasn’t. This is the part of the story where things go bad. When one of them does something to hurt the other. As stated previously, this is Donghyuck’s most heartbreaking story. This is why.

Donghyuck and Mark had been dating for three years. It was actually their anniversary on this day. Donghyuck had just gotten out of one of his classes and needed to grab something from Marks before he went home to get ready for their date. 

Donghyuck gets in with the key Mark had given him and heads to Mark's room to grab the jacket he had left there. When he gets to Mark's room instead of seeing it empty or with Mark doing whatever, he sees Mark straddling and making out with a guy he met three months ago, Yuta. 

Before they can notice Donghyuck, he runs out and back home. As soon as he gets inside he can’t stop his tears from falling. He sits on his bed crying until he gets a call from Mark. After contemplating whether or not to pick up, he decides to.

“Hey, Hyuck. I was wondering if we could celebrate our anniversary tomorrow. I know we had plans, but I have to get this paper into my music theory professor by tonight,” says Mark in the voice he always uses when he’s lying. Whenever he lies his voice gets more high-pitched.

“Yeah, that's fine. I’ll talk to you later,” says Donghyuck before quickly hanging up. Not only could he tell by Mark's voice, but also the paper Mark was referring to wasn’t due until next week and he’d already gotten it done. 

As soon as the call disconnects Donghyuck bursts into tears again. Why would Mark do this? Didn’t he love him?

_ Dear no one,  _

_ Mark’s cheating on me. After everything we’ve been through, he’s cheating on me with a guy he’s known for three months. On our anniversary too. We were supposed to go out tonight, but you called and said you had to get a paper done by tonight. I knew you were lying. You got that paper done a week ago. I know you’re really with Yuta. While I’m in my room crying you’re with Yuta doing god knows what. Do you know how much this hurts? Fuck, I wanna punch something. I can’t believe you. _

Donghyuck doesn’t break up with Mark. Mark may be cheating, but at least he stayed with him. He had to care about Donghyuck to some extent to still stay with him. Every time they would hang out and Donghyuck saw a hickey on Mark's neck he wouldn’t say anything. Whenever he was at Mark’s and saw something of Yuta’s he wouldn’t say anything. Every time Mark canceled on him to be with Yuta, Donghyuck didn’t say anything. He doesn’t even mention it to another soul until he’s sitting with the rest of his friends watching a movie six months later.

Mark was supposed to be there but canceled saying he had to finish up homework. Donghyuck knew he was probably with Yuta. The canceling of their plans got more frequent as months passed on. 

In the movie they were watching, there was a couple and one was cheating on the other. This made Donghyuck think about his own situation. About halfway through he paused it and stood up.

“This is what's wrong with guys! You spend 3 years by their side doing everything you can to make them happy! You spend 3 years trying your best to be the best boyfriend you can be despite lacking in a lot of areas! This is your first real relationship too, so you really have no idea what the fuck you’re doing, especially in the beginning, but you’re trying to figure it out so you can be the best boyfriend you can be! One day though they wake up and decide you’re suddenly not good enough! So, they go to some guy they’ve known for three months and start having an affair! The worst part is that you catch them together on your anniversary! Then they fucking cancel on you saying they have a shit ton of work which you know is a lie! You don’t break up with them though because of how much you love them! They have to love you to some degree because they still stay with you right?! So, whenever they cancel because of the other person, you end up watching a movie with your best friends because it distracts you from the pain you’re feeling,” Donghyuck yells. 

By the end of his rant, he was crying. They had all somewhat figured out what was going on. They were fuming. That stupid dick had the audacity to hurt one of their best friends. Mark was also one of their best friends, but that was irrelevant at this moment. 

“I’m gonna go kick his ass,” says Jeno. He gets up and runs out the door. The rest of them follow. They all lived pretty close to each other. Mark only lived two blocks away. When Jeno gets to his house he doesn’t bother knocking. He was too furious to think rationally. How dare Mark hurt Donghyuck. 

When he gets in the house he sees Mark on the couch with Yuta making out shirtless. Jeno pulls Mark off. He grabs him by the shoulders and yells, “You son of a bitch! How could you do this to Hyuck?! Did you even think once about how he would feel?!” 

Jeno punches Mark and he ends up falling to the ground. Jeno gets on top of him and lands a few more punches before he gets pulled off by Renjun. 

“Jeno, that’s enough. We’re all mad he hurt him, but beating him up isn’t gonna do anything,” he says. 

Mark notices Donghyuck standing beside Chenle and Jisung. He quickly puts on his shirt and stands up. Donghyuck was crying even more now than he was during his rant. 

“Hyuck, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this. It was a one-time thing,” Mark says.

Mark got caught, again, and he’s trying to lie. 

“I’ve known for six months, Mark. I caught you on our anniversary,” says Donghyuck trying not to cry more than he already was. 

Mark just stares at him for a second. He deserved to get beat up. He wishes Renjun would let Jeno go so he could beat him up. 

“Baby, please forgive me. I’ll never do this again. Please. I can’t lose you,” says Mark. 

There was no point in trying to ignore the fact Mark had been cheating on him anymore. He wasn’t sure if he could handle anymore.

“Mark, I can’t,” says Donghyuck. 

Mark tries to step closer to him, but Jaemin steps in front. Before Mark can do anything Jisung and Chenle lead a crying Donghyuck out of the house. Jaemin, Renjun, and Jeno followed not long after. 

_ Dear no one, _

_ Mark and I broke up. I was watching a movie with the guys and in it the main character was cheating on his girlfriend. This hit a little too close to home and I ended up pausing the movie and ranting about everything. After I was done Jeno ran to Marks to beat him up. Before he could do any real damage the rest of us got there and Renjun pulled him off. After that, he tried to make excuses. It hurt most that after he was caught he tried to lie to me about it. He tried to tell me it was a one-time thing. He didn’t even tell the truth. I was kind of glad when Jeno punched Mark. He deserved it. I honestly don’t know how I’m gonna get through this. That probably sounds stupid, I’m stupid, but I’ve never had to deal with this before. I never thought I would have to. I thought Mark was the one. I’ve never pictured myself with anyone else. I haven’t been able to stop crying. I just want to crawl into a corner and cry. _

_ From Donghyuck. _

A week goes by and Mark tries calling Donghyuck, but there was no answer. Donghyuck hadn’t even been on his phone since. Instead, he sat in bed all day. The others came over to check on him and make him eat, but other than that they didn’t really know what to do. 

Donghyuck lays in bed when he hears a knock on the door. He doesn’t want to get up, but the person keeps knocking. He gets up, wrapping his blanket around him, and goes to the door. When he opens it he is faced with Mark. 

He’s about to slam the door but Mark puts his hand in the way. Donghyuck just stares at him. He didn’t have the energy to speak right now. Especially to Mark. 

“Donghyuck, I’m so sorry. Yuta was just a fling. He didn’t mean anything to me,” says Mark.

Donghyuck never thought Mark would come to his house. He was already in a vulnerable state, and Mark coming here makes him want to believe everything he says and go back to him.

“Why did it go on for so long then,” Donghyuck finally speaks. It was really no use asking. Donghyuck knows that whatever Mark says he’ll run back into his arms again either way. Mark probably knows that too. 

“I tried to put a stop to it. I really did. I was wrong and I’m so sorry. I’ll do anything. Just please take me back,” says Mark.

Donghyuck wanted to slam the door in his face and tell him to go fuck himself, but he couldn’t. He wanted to just go and forget about Mark, but he couldn’t.

“Okay, come in,” Donghyuck says.

Mark lights up and they both go inside. They end up laying in bed cuddling. Donghyuck cries more and Mark just holds him. They may be back together, but that didn’t mean Donghyuck was suddenly all right. There was a piece of him still broken. 

_ Dear no one, _

_ Mark and I are back together. I really don’t know why I took him back. Even if I do end up forgiving him I don’t think I can completely heal from this. I don’t think our relationship can completely heal from this. I don’t even know if I can completely trust him after this. _

After six months Mark starts cheating again. This time it didn’t take long for Donghyuck to notice. The first time he saw Mark and he smelled like Yuta once again, he knew. He got that same sinking feeling he did when he first caught him. 

Donghyuck doesn’t say anything once again, but once again it slowly chips away at him. It gets to him a lot faster this time. It makes the piece of Donghyuck that was still broken get even bigger. Mark just kept taking pieces of Donghyuck until he couldn’t recognize himself.

Mark promised he wouldn’t do it again, so why is he? He was supposed to love Donghyuck, but if he really did then he would’ve never cheated in the first place. He doesn’t want to say anything, but he can only deal with it for so long. 

Donghyuck and Mark were both sitting in Mark’s living room. Mark gets a phone call and before he picks up Donghyuck sees its Yuta. Mark goes into another room to take it and that’s when Donghyuck’s breaking point happens. 

When Mark comes and sits back down Donghyuck says, “I know you’re cheating again.” Those five words carry so much weight, but for some reason the only way Donghyuk could say them was monotonous. 

Mark is quick to try to defend himself. “Hyuck, what are you talking about? I could never do that to you again.” Mark just keeps rambling trying to lie.

Donghyuck looks to the side beginning to cry. This is the end for them. Donghyuck says in a broken voice, “Please stop trying to say you're not. I-I know you are and I can’t do this anymore. I hate myself because of you, Mark. I hate what you’ve made me become. I hate what I’ve let myself become. You say you love me, but why do you keep doing this to me? You cheated on me with a guy you only knew for three months. Then you continued to do so for months. Then after a week of us being broken up you came to me begging me to take you back. You said you wouldn’t do that again. Here we are though.”

Donghyuck can’t tell if Mark is regretting what he did or not, but he didn’t care. 

“Hyuck, I’m sorry. I’ll do better,” Mark says, pleading.

Donghyuck almost laughs at that. He knew that was a lie. It seemed like everything Mark told him was a lie.

“You’ve said that before. We’ve been over for a while now, Mark. Ever since it happened last time I haven’t been able to trust you. Every time I look at you I just think about him touching you. I just think about seeing him kiss you. It hurts Mark. Every single time I pretend not to notice something it chips away at me. At this point, there’s nothing left to chip away at. So, I need to let go now. I can’t keep holding on to someone who doesn’t really love me,” says Donghyuck.

Donghyuck gets up, not letting Mark say anything else. He needed to focus on himself now. He needed to fix all that Mark broke, and he did. It took him a long time, but in the end, he came out stronger. 

Donghyuck didn’t hate Mark. Donghyuck loved him at one point, and Mark loved Donghyuck too. Even though Mark couldn’t stay loyal at the end there were still a couple of years worth of memories where he was an amazing boyfriend. So, Donghyuck didn’t hate him.

He liked to think that Mark was a lesson. Mark taught Donghyuck many things, but the biggest thing was to never let Donghyuck lose himself to another relationship again. 

_ Dear no one, _

_ It’s been a while. I’ve finally moved on from Mark. He’s now a distant memory. I did hear that he recently got married though. I’m doing good. I had a rough couple years after Mark, but I’ve healed now. I thought I was never going to love again, but I’m married and have two kids. I’m not the kid I was back then anymore. I’ve grown and changed. I think this is the last time I’ll be writing. Goodbye. _

So, that’s the story of Mark and Donghyuck. No rainbows or unicorns. No happy ending for them. They got their own happy endings in other stories, but their story ends as it is. Not all stories can end happily. They learned that the hard way.


End file.
